Latilla, Gaetano

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Latilla, Gaetano

Latilla, Gaetano, Italian composer; b. Bari, Jan. 21, 1711; d. Naples, Jan. 15, 1788. As a child, he sang in the choir of the Cathedral in Bari, then studied at the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio in Naples. He was 2nd maestro di cappella at S. Maria Maggiore in Rome (1738–41), then was in Venice as maestro di coro at the Conservatorio della Pieta (1753–66) and as 2nd maestro di cappella at S. Marco (1762-70?). He subsequently returned to Naples about 1774. He wrote 46 operas, but the music to most is not extant. His works include Li Mariti a forza (Naples, 1732), Angelica ed Orlando (Naples, 1735), Gismondo (Naples, 1737; also known as La finta giardiniera; perf. as Don Colascione, London, 1749), Madama Ciana (Rome, 1738; perf. as Gli Artigiani arrichiti, London, 1750, Paris, 1753), and I Sposi incogniti (Naples, 1779), as well as the oratorio L’onnipotenza e la misericordia divina, 3 sinfonias, 6 string quartets, church music, etc.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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Latilla, Gaetano

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